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NATO 1,000 troops short in Afghanistan

Signs of a new spring offensive by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan have begun to emerge, but NATO commanders are still short more than 1,000 combat troops, despite repeated requests to allied nations, the top commander said.

US General John Craddock told reporters on Friday that while the allies were winning more battles against insurgents, they were losing the counter-narcotics war, and more work and greater coordination was needed in the reconstruction effort.

Craddock said there had already been a slight increase in suicide attacks and roadside bombs -- the beginnings of an expected increase in violence as the weather improves.

He said he was still short by as much as two battalions, largely combat units, despite recent commitments for about 7,000 additional troops there, including more than 3,500 from the US.

Craddock also said that 30 percent to 40 percent of the 25 provincial reconstruction teams working to rebuild the country do not have all the people they need, particularly State Department and agricultural experts.

In those cases, he said the agencies either had no presence or not enough people on the teams, which numbered about 100 people.

The teams are small units of troops and civilian personnel placed around the country supporting local authorities and aid groups with security and assisting in setting up essential services for the provinces.

More agricultural experts are considered critical because officials are struggling to control a drug crop that dominates the country's economy and provides key financing for the insurgency.

Opium production from poppies in Afghanistan last year rose 49 percent to 6,080 tonnes -- or enough to make about 608 tonnes of heroin, more than 90 percent of the world's supply.

Lieutenant General Douglas Lute told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday that there were typically one or two State Department specialists and an Agriculture Department specialist on the teams, because the economy is so reliant on agriculture.

The rest of the team is largely military, including civil affairs and psychological operations officers. The US is responsible for 12 of the 25 teams, which are assigned to provinces.

Craddock said Pakistan must do more to control its border, as Taliban and other insurgents continue to flow through the region into Afghanistan.

"NATO will not be able to prevail, ... will never control the border, without greater control of the border areas by Pakistan and greater coordination and cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan," Craddock said.
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